Triple M Sport

As Melbourne gears up for the Big Day Out, M music
critic Guy Blackman does some talent spotting.

You can't argue with the figures: the 2010 season of the Big Day
Out is by far its biggest ever. For the fi rst time in the touring
rock festival's 18-year history, every Australian show has sold out
well in advance, with organisers Vivian Lees and Ken West even
adding a second Sydney date to meet demand.

Funny then that for many critics, the initial response to last
September's first line-up announcement was a barely stifled
yawn.

All the blockbuster acts were multiple BDO veterans, with Muse
returning for their third go round, Lily Allen for her second and
Powderfinger back on board for their seventh outing. Still, in many
ways it was a canny move by Lees and West. With financial
uncertainty still lingering in the atmosphere, they have basically
assembled a Best of the Big Day Out to lure hesitant punters back
to Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday.

This repeat-offender criticism seems to have riled the usually
implacable Lees. “I find that quite derogatory to the
performers,” he told The Age last weekend. “When you've
got a career, you need to be playing. You can't just not
play.”

The Big Day Out has definitely established long-term, mutually
beneficial relationships with many of the world's biggest bands
and, of course, Lees' and West's judicious use of repetition has
seen huge results this year.

But the biggest hit of the festival so far hasn't been
stadium-filling rockers Muse, the Mars Volta or Fear Factory.

In his second BDO appearance, UK rapper Dizzee Rascal got the
hip-hop loving Auckland crowd mimicking his every move, and then
jumped into the Gold Coast crowd after being thwocked in the eye by
a projectile deodorant. His unexpected transition from gritty
underground grime MC to dance pop crossover with last year's
Tongue N' Cheek has made him a firm festival favourite.
Floor-filling collaborations with the likes of Calvin Harris and
Armand Van Helden took him to the top of the British charts and
landed him in the Aussie top 20 for the first time.

Which is not to deny the big names their crowd-pleasing status.
The UK trio Muse are a definite phenomenon; overblown, pompous and
loved by millions all over the world. Their rise has been steady
and unstoppable, despite being held at a critical arm's length for
their patently Queen-inspired approach to rock'n'roll. Meanwhile
Lily Allen has survived the diffi cult second album syndrome with
It's Not Me, It's You, enduring critical sniping and
tabloid harassment to emerge triumphant. Allen is still vicious and
vulnerable in equal amounts, and loved all the more for it by her
vast ranks of fans.

The Mars Volta and Fear Factory hark back to the rock-heavy Big
Day Out line-ups of the '90s, both appearing for the third time.
Veteran LA metal gods Fear Factory first played the festival in
1997, and return to Australia with a new line-up after long-running
tensions saw two founding members frozen out. Despite the
challenging nature of their music, progressive rockers the Mars
Volta seem to be on an unending upward path, with last year's fifth
album Octahedron earning them a best hard rock performance Grammy
for the single Wax Simulacra.

There are clearly a lot of heavyhitters on this year's bill, but
still, some strange and beautiful fl owers are blooming in the
cracks. The Lilyworld stage, long a haven for oddballs and
outcasts, has in recent years hosted some of the most intriguing
music of the festival. Last year it was reformed '80s pop legends
the Reels, while this year it's up-and-coming Footscray rapper
Bangs. Nineteen-year-old Sudanese-born Ajak Chol came to prominence
late last year when his single Take U To Da Movies became a viral
internet phenomenon.

Uncharacteristically for hip-hop, the track was a sweet ode to
film-going gallantry, and the slightly clunky delivery only added
to its endearing appeal. Within a week of the video appearing on
YouTube, it had been picked up by hipster blogs around the world,
and now stands at almost 2 million views. Debut album Hard To Be Up
was originally available through one hip-hop store in Footscray,
but now Bangs is reportedly being courted by international record
labels.

Then there's salacious '70s funk-rap icon Blowfly, whose
sexed-up, self-released albums such as Porno Freak and
Blowfly's Party contained some of the earliest examples of
hip-hop rhyming.

Now nearly 65, he has been undergoing a renaissance with albums
released by punk label Alternative Tentacles, run by the Dead
Kennedys' Jello Biafra. Despite the repetition, there are also some
intriguing international newcomers to the Big Day Out stage.
Passion Pit's dayglo post-MGMT pop will work well in the afternoon
sunshine (if the weather holds out), while Portland cult heroes the
Decemberists make a long-awaited debut appearance on Australian
shores.

New Zealand '80s-channelling pop sprite Ladyhawke is still
growing up in public, painfully shy in front of big crowds, but her
music is so anthemic it doesn't seem to matter.

So, while it's hardly the most adventurous Big Day Out, there's
still enough variety to keep the nagging sense of deja vu at
bay.